The trial will begin with two large home stores, which will open for business within 18 months. The stores’ locations are yet to be decided.

M&S expanded its homeware offering late last year, opening home sections in 27 of its department stores. A spokeswoman for M&S says the company is eager to capitalise on the popularity of its home sections. She says: “Homeware is definitely a growth area and M&S wants to get in there. This seems like a logical step for us.”

Merchandise in the home stores will be similar to M&S’s current offerings, but the product range will be expanded and improved.

M&S will continue its segmented approach to marketing by dividing the stores into lifestyles, including Modern Living, Classic Country and Classic Town. The spokeswoman says M&S has successfully segmented its men’s and ladies’ clothing lines and sees no reason not to take the same approach with homeware.

At this stage, M&S has no plans to put a separate home store advertising account up for pitch. Instead the company’s incumbent agency, Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe/Y&R will handle advertising.

Delegates at the recent Television Matters conference were surprised to find themselves being entertained by a virtual Chris Tarrant. The Capital Radio DJ and host of the conference couldn’t make the beginning of the conference, so Max Headroom-style video segments were created to fill in for him while he made his way to the venue. […]

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The Food and Drink Federation has appointed Melanie Leech as its director-general. Leech has held a variety of senior positions in government departments, including the Cabinet Office, and is a former executive director of the Association of Police Authorities.

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